Whoa, stunters and stunt fans, relax, I didn't put the blame 100% on stunters. If you read, you'll see I said something like, "it adds to it." Now, if you want to get into things... let's get into it a little.
I have no issues with stunting, I enjoy watching what people can do, some of the stuff is just really cool. What I DO have a problem with are people who are too cool to wear safety gear. It doesn't take much to have your head bashed in. I'm not going to argue with someone's requirement to wear a helmet or not, because some people are stupid and agree with the way helmet laws (or lack of laws) are in states like FL or CT. This guy is a professional, he should know what kind of example he is setting out there for the wannabes in the crowd that either do have a bike or will have one one day.
Professional racers NEVER slack on the gear. Over the years, equipment has gotten better and better and you will always see it as a REQUIREMENT, not an option. Yeah, there are people who will emulate the moves of the racers on the street, but hopefully the fact that they wear safety gear (and look cool as hell doing it), will rub off.
As far as race bikes being on the street now, that has always been the case. Bikes may not have been hitting 200MPH back in the day, but plenty of bikes were capable of well over 100mph back in the 70's.
My bike is nowhere near the monster that my friends ZRX1100 is, yet my insurance is outrageous compared to his. There are a million factors in an insurance agencies pricing plans, and to say that things like stunting are not calculated in would be ridiculous. It's certainly not something that's hidden in the world of motorcycles when stupid kids are doing wheelies at 100+ through highway traffic. Now, I can certainly believe that motorcycle theft has a ton to do with the price of insurance, but can you honestly say that the accident/injury rate of sport bikes has nothing to do with it? Talk to just about everyone who's been riding sports bikes for most of their life, and I'm sure most will have stories about going down after doing something stupid. Bikes aren't built out of steel anymore, it's plastic, C/F, aluminum, etc. It doesn't take that much to destroy a bike or cause enough damage for someone to put in a claim for their $10,000 1000cc bike. I see plenty of those in the papers every spring/summer/fall.
I'll rephrase my initial response to this post to limit any sort of drama, how's this...
"What an idiot. Hope those Oakley's live up to their 400lb guarantee."
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